GE, union talks in final stage as workers
protest

June 25, 2000 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Contract talks
between General Electric and 14 unions representing some
38,000 GE workers went down to the wire Sunday night, with
apparent agreement reached on some health benefits but the
issue of pension benefits still wide open.

The unions told the Associated Press Sunday that if an
agreement isn’t reached by midnight, they will notify the
company of their intention to call for a strike as early as
July 8. GE has not had a nationwide strike since 1969.

Friday, hundreds of union members gathered outside
General Electric Manhattan office in support of the
collective bargaining committee. The protecters demanded
better job security, improved pension plans and no
rollbacks in health benefits.

“They’ve got more money than they ever had and they just
don’t want to share any of it,” said Terry Elfers, 55, who
has been with GE for 22 years and who negotiated four
contracts. Elfers said that job security was the workers’
“number one concern.” “Pension is number two,” he
added.

“Once you retire, that’s it,” said Lauren Asplen
spokesperson for the International Union of Electronic
Workers (IUE). “Pensions are extremely low. Many people get
$700 a month.”

“When you take the size and the wealth of this company,
it’s just outrageous,” Asplen said.

“We’re confident that we will reach a contract that is
good for our employees and that retains the competitiveness
of our businesses,” GE spokesman Gary Sheffer told
PLANSPONSOR.com. He declined to comment on the details of
negotiations.

Sheffer said that since the pension plan depends on the
number of years a person has worked for the company and his
or her salary, “there is no one payment.”

The unions claim that $25 billion surplus could be used
to improve the pension plan and benefits. “They claimed
$1.4 billion profit from this fund,” said Asplen. “They are
just sitting on this money and sucking up the profit.”

“Our pension plan is competitive or better than the one
our competitors offer,” said Sheffer.